A Sense of Tranquility
by White Lioness Spirit
Summary: In a poorly lit room in Manila, both Aaron and Marta find respite from their fear.


_**A Sense Of Tranquility**_

**A/N: Just a short one-shot, because Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz had incredible chemistry and, sadly, their characters didn't even get to kiss. **

The small room was bathed in a sickly dim orange glow that cast harsh shadows upon their faces. Marta kept Aaron's sweating, quivering body tightly encased in her firm grip. She brushed his damp hair from his sweat dotted brow. His breath was labored, his body covered in a thick sheen of perspiration. The occasional tremor coursed through him, making Marta hold him against her all the more firmly. Aaron kept his face tucked against Marta's chest, feeling the intake and exhale of every breath she took. The darkness was a welcome respite. His vision was blurred; his pounding head made his temples throb and ache. Marta's gentle touch was soothing.

_He was surrounded. The CIA agents that had threatened Marta in her home encircled him. Eric Byer stood before him, eyes hard and cold, a scowl twisting his long thin face. There was movement in the shadows around him, all those hunting Marta and himself, wanting to catch them. Kill them. The noises that ripped free from their throats were not remotely human: growls and snarls. There were eyes flashing in the gloom. The sound suddenly stopped and those in the shadows moved forward. Aaron couldn't make out their features well enough to recognize them, but he could see the aggression in their stances. They moved fluidly, as one, reaching up and pulling their faces off. Wolves snarled at him from beneath. They dropped forward onto all fours, their furred bodies twisting free from the confines of their human shells. Black, gray, white, brown, they weaved through the darkness, eyes aglow, limbs limber, and paws silent against the hard cold ground._

_Aaron's attention turned back to Ric Byers. The Colonel's frosty blue eyes remained fixed on Aaron's face. The scowl transformed into a vicious smirk. When he reached up and pulled off his human mask the gray alpha wolf that had challenged and attacked him in Alaska snapped in greeting at him. Its amber eyes burned into him, its lips pulled back over sharp fangs. Strings of saliva hung in curtains from slavering jaws. Its ears pressed flat against its skull as it stalked forward, Aaron's death painted clear in the canine's fear-striking eyes._

_Aaron hadn't escaped the pack; he had just traded in the four-legged pack for a human variety._

_Somewhere in the darkness Marta screamed and the wolves howled their eerie song, and snapped their powerful jaws. Aaron's heart pounded. "Marta!"_

"Aaron," Marta's soft voice filled his ears. She drew back, staring into his face, her dark eyes brimming with concern. "Aaron, it's okay." Her hands never stopped stroking his damp hair.

His vision still blurred and another quiver ran through his taut body. The 'viral off' procedure had done this; left him weakened and sickly. The hallucinations pricked at his brain, burrowing in and refusing to let go.

"_What's your name?" The man stood before him, body poker straight and stiff._

"_Kenneth Kitson." His face and body ached, his flesh discolored black and blue, but he wouldn't let any pain show._

"_Will you give yourself to this program?"_

_No hesitation. "Yes, Sir."_

"Ssh," Marta's voice again. She cupped his face, bringing it up close to her own. Her thumbs rubbed circles on his clammy skin. Her skin was free from a mask of cosmetics. Her dark red tinged hair fell in an untidy tumble to frame the pale skin. It was a beautiful face that had been bestowed upon her, even with the lines of fear and weariness that had settled themselves into her flesh and beneath the shadows of her dark eyes.

Aaron pressed his forehead gently against Marta's. His fingers threaded through her long tangled hair. Her dark eyes looked black in the dull light. His gray eyes never broke the contact they held with hers. Each could hear the other breathing, the only sounds coming from the street outside. In the room time had stopped. The world stopped turning here, and for just a moment neither Aaron nor Marta felt afraid.

Aaron's rough calloused hands slid down through Marta's hair to cup her face. The tip of Marta's tongue snaked out to run along her dry lips. They hesitated, lips almost touching, warm breath mingling together. The yell of a voice rose and fell outside, and a car blared its horn. The couple in the dimly lit room never heard a thing.

"Aaron?" Marta voiced his name like a question. Her brown eyes gleamed. She took the initiative and leaned in, capturing his lips with hers. Though his skin was slick with sweat, his lips were dry.

There was no fear or panic between them. This was their moment of tranquility, after all they had been through the serenity was welcome.

The first kisses they shared were light and chaste, before deepening as the passion between them flared. Their touches were gentle. Marta's fingertips skated lightly along Aaron's muscles, feeling them strong and tight beneath his skin. Aaron's lips pressed against Marta's neck. He could feel her pulse fluttering beneath his mouth. It sped up when he placed a kiss against it. Marta's hands massaged his stiff shoulders as she nuzzled against him. They were both breathing hard.

Another tremor shuddered through Aaron, then. His mouth broke off contact with Marta's skin and his face contorted in a grimace. Marta pulled away, her face knitted with concern. She held Aaron's trembling form in her arms, stroking his hair again. "Hush," she whispered, voice light as the dust in the air. "Aaron, it's all right." She lowered him back onto the mattress, taking up the damp cloth and sponging away the perspiration on his face.

Aaron brushed the cloth away and gently pulled Marta down onto the bed with him. His chin rested on the crown of Marta's head. Her fingertips so very gently ran up and down his bare chest. Aaron took her hand in his, holding it tight. He planted the lightest of kisses against the top of her head, caressing her dark hair.

Both were being hunted, but neither would make it easy for those seeking their demise. Both Aaron and Marta were fighters, and together they were a strong and formidable team. Tomorrow would come, bringing with it the fear and determination to survive, but for now they could relax in the company of each other. There was a sense of tranquility between them, even if only for one night.

.


End file.
